Skip buying store-bought bread bowls and make this Pumpkin Bread Bowl recipe from frozen dough! It’s the perfect way to enjoy a delicious and easy homemade bread bowl with soup or chili.
Fall is my favorite season of the year! Please bring on the pumpkin spice, apple crisp, and lots of yummy soups.
In honor of fall, let’s make pumpkin-shaped bread bowls for all the yummy soups we’ll be serving as the weather cools. Learn how to make bread bowls from frozen dough loaves. It’s as easy as thawing, shaping, and baking! Get the bread bowl recipe below and serve up your soup, stew, or dip in style.
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It’s Soup Season!
As soon the calendar turns to September, it’s soup season! What better way to enjoy those cool evenings than with Easy clam chowder, Instant Pot Beef stew, or 5 Ingredient stove top chili in a homemade bread bowl?
Making these bread bowls from frozen bread dough loaves is so easy. They’re the perfect way to enjoy a homemade bread bowl without all the work.
Just thaw, shape, bake… and serve!
Uses for Bread Bowls
Plus, you’ll find plenty of uses for these homemade pumpkin-shaped bread bowls. They can hold a tasty cream cheese dip, Knorr spinach dip, or our family famous Cajun crab dip with shrimp. Or, add them to a cheese or charcuterie board.
These bread bowls look like real pumpkins but are soft and chewy. Also, the prep is so easy that kids could help make them. I’m sure your kids will love making those mini bread bowls!
Homemade Bread Bowls from Frozen Dough
Making bread bowls is not as hard as you thought. In fact, it is really easy to make them using frozen dough. You will never want to use store-bought bread bowls again!
Making this pumpkin bread bowl recipe is very simple. You and your kids can help prepare it. They will love seeing how their mini bread bowls turn out. Plus, it might motivate them to clean their bowls at dinner!
If you love frozen dough recipes, then try our braided lemon bread, Easy Overnight French Toast Casserole, Easy Italian Sliders, pesto cheese bread twist, and Ham & Brie Pull-Apart.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
For a stress-free holiday, keep plenty of frozen dough on hand! Just thaw, bake, and serve. And, if you keep them in your freezer, they’re ready when you need them.
Ingredients Used for This Recipe
- Frozen bread dough
- Egg
- Cooking spray
How to make Bread Bowls from Frozen Dough
To make a bread bowl, you’ll need a bag of frozen dough, like Ready-Dough. Each bag contains three pre-made frozen bread loaves, each enough to make two large, three medium, or four mini bread bowls.
How to Defrost Frozen Dough
You can easily defrost frozen dough in the refrigerator for 8 – 10 hours. Place the frozen bread loaves on an oil-sprayed sheet pan (or use parchment paper).
If you want to do it faster, you can also thaw the frozen bread loaves at room temperature on an oil-sprayed sheet pan (or parchment paper) for 2-3 hours.
Note: Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking oil on the side facing the dough. Don’t skip this last step; otherwise, you’ll wind up with a sticky mess.
How to Make A Bread Bowl
- For large bowls, divide each loaf of dough in half. For mini bread bowls, divide into 4.
- Shape the small piece of dough into a ball. Stretch and smooth the top, then tuck it under. Do this two to four times to create the shape of a pumpkin. Firmly pinch the underside of the dough.
- Cut three strings of cotton string or twine to about 18″ long. Lay them out on the baking sheet in a wheel spoke pattern.
- Place the pumpkin bread dough balls close together on the twine. Do this for each dough ball without them overlapping each other.
- As you can see in the photo, I just moved them to the sides. After the dough rises, you’ll pull the strings up over it before baking.
- Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking oil on the side that faces the dough. Let rise until double in a warm, draft-free location for 2-3 hours.
Baking the Pumpkin Shaped Bowl
Preheat the oven to 350º.
Preparing to shape. Lift the twine up, spreading it evenly to imitate pumpkin sections. Tie the twine together about 3” above the top of the dough and carefully trim the excess string. Brush on the egg wash.
Bake the Bread Bowls. Bake the pumpkin bread bowl for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Then serve. Let the pumpkin cool. Take off the twine. To make it look more like a pumpkin, use parsley stalks or leafy celery tops as the pumpkin stalks.
How to Cut Pumpkin Bread Bowls
Here’s how to cut pumpkin-shaped bread bowls easily and safely. You’ll need a serrated knife with a sharp point.
- Hold the tip facing down at a 45º angle and cut a circle around the widest part of the bread bowl.
- Lift the top off of the bread bowl.
- Push the bread down with your fingers so it is flat to make more room in the bowl.
How to Store
You can store the bread bowls at room temperature in a covered container or bag for up to 3 days. Or freeze them for up to 2 months. Let thaw on the counter before serving.
If you want to reheat the bread bowls, preheat your oven to 350º F. Place them on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes.
If you tried this pumpkin shaped bread bowl recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Pumpkin Shaped Bread Bowl
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Twine string
- Scissors
- pastry brush
Ingredients
- 2 loaves Bridgford Ready-Dough
- 1 Egg
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Thaw bread following directions on bag, or see section "How to Defrost Frozen Dough" above.
- For larger bread bowls, divide each loaf of dough in half. For medium sized bread bowls, divide into thirds. Smooth the small piece of dough into a ball, stretching the top and tucking the dough under. Do this two to three times, then firmly pinch the underside of the bread dough.
- Cut 3 strings of cotton string or twine (the kind you use to tie up roasts) to about 18” long. Lay them on the baking sheet in a wheel spoke pattern.
- Place the smooth pumpkin bread dough balls right in the center of the twine. Do this for each of the bread dough balls, without the strings overlapping subsequent balls.
- Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking oil on the side that faces the dough. Let rise until double in a warm, draft free location for 2-3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lift the twine up, spreading it evenly to imitate pumpkin sections. Tie the twine together about 3” above the top of the dough. Let the tied string rest on the top of the dough ball. Carefully trim excess string.
- Using a fork and small bowl, mix the egg until completely blended together. Brush the egg all over the top and sides of the dough.Bake for 25 minutes, until the pumpkin bread bowl is golden brown.
- Let cool for at least an hour and gently remove the twine. To complete the look of a pumpkin, poke a hole in the top of the pumpkin and insert parsley stalks or leafy celery tops as pumpkin stalks.
- To cut bread bowls, use a serrated knife with a sharp point. Hold the tip facing down at a 45º angle and cut a circle around the widest part of the bread bowl. Using your fingers, lift the top off. To make room inside the bowl, run your fingers inside flattening excess bread.
Nutrition
Sara Welch says
Enjoyed this for dinner tonight and it was the perfect fall dinner! Turned out creamy, easy and delicious; my whole family loved it!
Jill says
Such a fantastic recipe! I served my double pumpkin chili in these. Everyone loved it! Definitely going be making these pumpkin bread bowls again!
Bobby says
This pumpkin bread bowl is so creative. I absolutely loved it and can’t wait to make again for Thanksgiving!
Anjali says
These pumpkin bread bowls are so cute and are perfect for the holiday season!! Can’t wait to make these for Thanksgiving!
veenaazmanov says
This is so much fun and an innovative idea. My kids to love this unique Bread Bowls. Sounds perfect for a Halloween perfect Dinner.